Giacomo Carboni (29 April 1889 – 2 December 1973) was an Italian general who was the commander of ''Corpo d'armata motocorazzato'' deployed around Rome in the early days of September 1943.

Life and career

Born in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

he joined the

Modena Military Academy The Military Academy of Modena ( it, Accademia militare di Modena) is a military university in Modena, northern Italy. Located in the Palazzo Ducale in the historic center of the city, it was the first such military institution to be created i ...

where he was commissioned Sottotenente. Then he fought in the Libyan war. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was an officer of the

Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...

. In 1936–37 he was commander of the 81st infantry regiment during the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, in 1939 he was Vice Commander of Cacciatori delle Alpi division. From September 1939 to June 1940 he was the chief of SIM. As chief of the Italian military secret service he wrote a series of reports to

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

wherein the Italian preparation to the war was described as inadequate. Carboni was dismissed from his post at SIM and was made commander of the Modena Military Academy.
From December 1941 until November 1942, he was commander of the 20 Infantry Division Friuli and in the first half of 1943, he led the VII Army Corps during the

Italian occupation of Corsica Italian-occupied Corsica refers to the military (and administrative) occupation by the Kingdom of Italy of the island of Corsica during the Second World War, from November 1942 to September 1943. After an initial period of increased control over th ...

Role in 1943

In the eve of the 25 July coup General Ambrosio named Carboni as head of the ''Corpo d'armata motocorazzato'' in charge of the defense of Rome against the

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and he cooperated in the overthrow of Mussolini. In the days between 2 July and 8 September he was also named head of the SIM again and he ordered the arrest of many fascists loyal to Mussolini. In the night of 7 September he hosted US general Maxwell D. Taylor and declared to the US counterpart his impossibility to defend Rome against the Germans due to the weakness of Italian forces. Despite the fact that the divisions in his command were the most modern and largely superior in numbers in the night of 8 September he did not attack the German forces and in the morning of the 9 September Carboni left his post as commander of the army corps and tried to reach the group around King

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...

. In the late hours of the 9 September he returned to Rome but his command was ineffective. After the liberation of Rome he was under investigation for his role in the failed defence of Rome but was acquitted.Indro Montanelli, Storia d'Italia 1936-1943, Rcs Libri 1980

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carboni, Giacomo 1889 births 1973 deaths People from Reggio Emilia Italian generals Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II